Australia were stunned by Zimbabwe in Harare and then lost their captain, Michael Clarke, for the remainder of the Tri-Series also involving South Africa after he suffered another recurrence of hamstring problems.

Clarke, who was making his first international appearance for six months after missing Australia’s previous two games in the series when the hamstring flared up again, top-scored with 68 in a total of 209 for nine but was forced to retire hurt.

He did manage to bowl an over of left-arm spin late in Zimbabwe’s reply but by that stage they were on the brink of a first victory over Australia since 1983, with the captain Elton Chigumbura steering them to a three-wicket triumph with an unbeaten 52 off 68 balls to spark scenes of wild celebration.

“There’s probably not enough expletives in the English language at the moment for the way I’m feeling,” said the Australia coach, Darren Lehmann. “It’s just embarrassing for everyone involved in the touring party, and I hope they’re hurting. They should be.”

Australia had already lost one game in the series to South Africa, leaving them in danger of failing to qualify for the final – and meaning India will pull well clear of them at the top of the world one-day rankings. Clarke is also now a doubt for Australia’s Test series against Pakistan in October.

“We have to be smarter with his management maybe,” said Lehmann. “But if your captain’s fit he should play. That’s where we sit as a selection panel. He was good to go [against Zimbabwe]. Now it’s about getting right for the next tour.”

Sean Williams, a 27-year-old left-arm spinner, was Zimbabwe’s most economical bowler as Australia’s stellar batting line-up struggled, taking two for 21 in his 10 overs.

Questions have been raised about Australia’s selection process for their current tour. Steve Smith, a good player of spin, was left out in favour of the all-rounder James Faulkner, who who was out for a golden duck and struggled with the ball. Australia also played only one spinner – Nathan Lyon – in favourable conditions for slow bowling. Lyon took 4-44 but there were no strong spinning options to complement him.

“By the end of the result, we probably thought we did get [the team selection] wrong,” said Lehmann. “But if we can’t beat Zimbabwe with that side we’ve got problems, so we’ve got to sort them out.”